The minutes of the owners' meeting - this is important

The minutes of the owners' meeting are one of the most important documents in a WEG. They are used to record the discussion points and resolutions passed at the owners' meeting in writing so that every owner can get an overview of the topics afterwards.

This is what the minutes of the owners' meeting look like

The minutes of the owners' meeting do not follow any particular form - as long as all the necessary information is included, the layout is irrelevant. The minutes of the meeting can therefore look different from one administrator to the next.

Good to know: The WEG Act does not actually recognize the term "minutes" and uses the word "minutes" instead. However, the term "minutes" has become established in the linguistic usage of most condominium owners. These are minutes of the results or resolutions and not minutes of the proceedings.

Resolution protocol or progress protocol? Declaration of division and community regulations are decisive

The question of whether a resolution protocol or a progress protocol is drawn up depends primarily on the agreements in the declaration of division and the community regulations. In the absence of such agreements, the type of minutes is determined by the statutory provisions. These give the chairperson of the meeting a certain amount of leeway. This means that, as a rule, he or she can decide for themselves whether there are detailed or brief minutes for the WEG meeting.

The flow chart

If an administrator decides to record a meeting as minutes, this means that he or she records the entire course of the meeting in detail in writing. This also includes all speeches and discussions of the individual condominium owners. Such minutes are rather time-consuming to prepare and involve a number of risks.

On the one hand, it is difficult to reproduce all statements completely and correctly, especially if many homeowners speak at the same time or interrupt each other. On the other hand, the verbal contributions could also contain offensive or inappropriate statements that have no place in official minutes.

A pure resolution protocol, which only focuses on the agreed points, is generally less time-consuming and avoids these problems.

The resolution protocol

The resolution minutes or minutes of the results of an owners' meeting essentially focus on the specific resolutions passed during the meeting. The agenda is therefore described and the resolutions passed with the corresponding voting results are recorded. The administrator can also add brief explanations of the resolutions to make them easier to understand. Topics that were discussed but not put to the vote can also be briefly mentioned under an item such as "Miscellaneous" or "Other" if they are of importance to the homeowners' association.

In contrast to the detailed progress report, which documents the entire course of the meeting, the results report provides a compact summary of the most important decisions.

Minutes of the owners' meeting: the most important components

The minutes for the owners' meeting must contain certain points about the owners' meeting that has taken place. The most important elements are as follows:

• Date, time and place of the owners' meeting: The owners' meeting took place on [day], [date] at [time] in the premises of [place, e.g. common rooms].
• Duration: Exact times for the start and end of the owners' meeting.
• List of all owners present: An attendance list of all condominium owners and the co-ownership shares represented should also be included in the minutes. This information is used, among other things, to prove that the condominium owners' meeting has a quorum.
• Agenda items: The minutes of every owners' meeting must state that the items on the agenda have been approved and that any amendments have been adopted.
• Results of the votes: The minutes should document the voting results. This includes, for example, the number of yes votes, no votes and abstentions.
• Closing: The official closing of the condominium owners' meeting is recorded by the chairperson and the signature of the recording secretary as well as the chairperson of the advisory board and at least one other co-owner.

Persons involved and responsible

The property management company is responsible for taking the minutes, as it usually convenes and manages the owners' meeting. Alternatively, the management committee or a condominium owner appointed by the condominium owners' association as secretary can also take the minutes.

If the administrator is unable or unwilling to attend an ordinary or extraordinary owners' meeting, the WEG is responsible for recording the minutes and maintaining the collection of resolutions.

Who has to sign the minutes after the condominium owners' meeting?

In order for the minutes of an owners' meeting to be legally valid, certain persons must sign them. In addition to the chairperson of the meeting, i.e. usually the administrator, an owner must also sign. If there is an advisory board, the chairperson or his/her deputy must also sign the agreement. In a condominium that manages itself, the minutes must be signed by a person from among the condominium owners.

Important: If you wish to challenge a resolution at a later date, it may be crucial that all signatures are present in the minutes. If a signature is missing, this could lead to the resolution being declared invalid.

The deadline for drawing up the minutes

There is no specific deadline for preparing the minutes of the meeting. The WEG only requires that the minutes should be recorded immediately in accordance with Section 24 (6) WEG. As a rule, the collection of resolutions should also take place promptly, ideally one to two days after the meeting.

How to keep the minutes after the owners' meeting

The original minutes of the owners' meeting must be kept permanently. There is a legal obligation to do so. Ideally, all minutes should also be backed up digitally by the property management company and, if you wish to have access to the minutes of the meeting yourself, kept in the form of a written copy for your own records. Why is this important? The minutes contain important discussion questions, decisions and resolutions of the WEG, which are not only of interest for WEG practice, but also for future owners.

Get access to the protocol

As a condominium owner, you have the right to inspect the minutes of the owners' meetings at any time. This is stipulated by law in Section 18 (4) WEG and also applies to other important documents such as resolutions. Your administrator is obliged to make these documents available to you.

A refusal to allow the administrator to inspect the property constitutes a breach of the principles of proper administration and may lead to extraordinary termination of the management contract.

According to this regulation, insolvency administrators, receivers and executors also have the right to inspect the minutes of the meeting. 

The digital minutes of the WEG meeting

The 2020 WEG reform has not only made participation in owners' meetings more flexible for condominium owners, but has also simplified administration. Thanks to the new regulations, owners' meetings can now also be held as hybrid events.

This means that you can take part in the meeting from the comfort of your own home without having to be there in person. And best of all, the minutes of the owners' meeting can now also be created digitally and sent directly to the community of owners. This means you are always up to date and can deal with the minutes and resolutions at your leisure. The physical original of the minutes must of course still be created.

The consequences of an incorrect protocol

In principle, errors in the minutes have no effect whatsoever on the resolutions that you have passed as a WEG. The minutes are not contestable per se "only" because they are not made available on time or because they have been unconsciously or deliberately forgotten. All resolutions passed at the WEG meeting are always effective and take effect after the vote, regardless of the minutes.

Exemplary causes for protocol corrections

If the minutes are incorrect, you have the right to have the minutes corrected by the property management company or the person who prepared them without being subject to a time limit. Here is an overview with examples of potential reasons for corrections to the minutes:

• The collection of resolutions is incomplete: Important resolutions have been omitted from the minutes
• The resolution minutes are incorrect: Resolutions are not recorded correctly
• One owner has defamed or insulted the minutes of the owners' meeting
• The minutes of the owners' meeting are written one-sidedly from the perspective of certain owners. Other perspectives were not included
• The statements of owners that trigger binding rights or obligations for them were incorrectly included or omitted

Error-free and standard-compliant protocols with Ralph

Overall, the minutes of the owners' meeting are an important document that records the results and resolutions of the WEG. Thanks to the defined content, the minutes enable existing and new owners to be informed about important issues and decisions and to refer to them if necessary. Creating error-free and standard-compliant minutes is one of the many tasks that we take on for your condominium as a property management company. Find out more about our services and switch to Ralph now!